We’ve all been there. You’re getting ready for work or you’re heading out to Sunday brunch and while you really want to look socially acceptable you just can’t bring yourself to spend 15 minutes on that perfect Lauren Conrad cat eye and then 28 more minutes trying to teach yourself how to contour from that YouTube video you pinned last week. It’s hard being a girl. I’ve been doing this long enough to fail hard, try face masks one should never try, and find a few of those holy grail products and now I’m sharing my secrets with you. In just 5 minutes, you can get that natural, glowy look that’s perfect for every day with the right products. And more importantly, with products that will help nourish and improve your skin rather than just cover up imperfections.
Cleanse and moisturize. It’s important to start with a clean slate so make sure you wash your face every morning. Every third day I add exfoliant to my face wash to get rid of that dead skin build up. Gross. m-61’s Perfect Cleanse is my favorite wash and comes in a travel size. Laura Mercier’s Face Polish is the exfoliant I keep in my shower and is gentle enough to use daily. I finish off my pre-makeup process with a light moisturizer with SPF. If you’re not using a moisturizer that includes SPF, switch to one that does. Your 45 year old self will thank you.
Enhance. I have an issue with patches of redness so Stila’s One Step Correct helps fix that situation and I can’t breathe without come form of concealer but I’ve recently discovered the importance of enhancing your beauty slash face rather than covering it up in layers of liquid foundation so I now use Bare Minerals Well-Rested CC stick with provides just enough coverage and gives your undereyes that little kick of caffeine they need. I use Bare Minerals’ Complexion Rescue in 05 Natural with a large flat brush to get a little coverage and a natural glow all while helping my skin.
Bronze. Because, obviously. A few swipes of bronzer adds dimension to your face and finishes off whatever mattifying effect your converup and foundation created. I’ve always been a fan on Bobbi Brown’s Shimmer Brick to highlight the cheekbones and lightly curve in a C motion around your eye bone. I use Bare Minerals bronzer and love the natural, sunkissed look it gives. And for the love, please remember that a little bronzer goes a long way. Gently swirl your bronzing brush into the compact and either tap or blow to ensure you’re not about to streak yourself with those golden rays of sunlight magic.
Eyebrow it up. No I’m not saluting you, I’m doing my favorite brow trick in the book. The unnatural light in my bathroom shines too brightly on that part of my face so when I’m penciling my brows I like to do it in this shadow I create. Brillz. I neglected my brows until about 2 years ago. That’s 25 years of neglected brows. Granted, I didn’t overpluck to pencil thing eyebrows until around 9th grade… I digress. Adding depth by lightly penciling in your eyebrows can create an entirely different look and really create a more finished look. I found a cheap Revlon pencil years ago and bought 10 because I knew I’d never find anything I’d like as much but this Anastasia Brow Pencil is a very close second. Do yourself, and the world, a favor and LIGHTLY pencil in your brows every morning. It takes 30 seconds and you’ll be glad you did.
Lashes. During this brutal winter, I’ve decided to leave the liquid liner in my makeup bag and stick to only mascara. I’d find by the time I got to work every morning I had tears streaming down my face from the cold and with it came a little eyeliner. In my opinion, it wasn’t worth it to redo every morning and leaving it out of my makeup routine saves about 5 minutes. Damn cat eye bullshit. I curl my lashes, use a lash lengthener and the best mascara I’ve ever found. Ever.
Et voila! Your 5-minute face is done! Now let’s get that chic bedhead look in 2 more minutes…
Juhje. Juje. Jooj. I have no idea how to spell this. But I know you know exactly what I’m talking about. Sprinkle a little of this miracle powder a half inch from your roots on every layer of your hair and juhje to get all-over volume. If you’re only looking for volume at your part, just add a little a half inch from your part. I’ve tried every dry shampoo voluminizer duo in the book. This stuff. Hands down.
Texturize. I always texturize day 2 and day 3 hair. On day 1, it’s a little too smooth to mess with. But with straight hair, any other day I add Oribe’s Texturizing Spray to achieve that beachy look. Any day I wave or curl my hair this stuff goes in.
Get my tee from today’s post here.
Photos by Ashley
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I loved learning about your favorite products – everyone is writing about the Bare Minerals complexion rescue stuff, so I have to try it! :)
~ Christina
Well, CHRISTINA, I loved sharing them with you :) Sharing more of my favorite things this year on DS. In the meantime, absolutely check out the new Bare Minerals products. I swear by the stuff now.
Totally going to steal that brow trick.